(A/N: I have nothing to say)

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

3rd Person pov

The World Tree

Emil, Lloyd, Marta and the others arrived at the sight of the World Tree. The tree itself was still small in comparison to the vision Martel had shown Lloyd and Colette, but it was growing healthily and steadily. Upon arrival at the tree, Lloyd and Colette walked right up to it.

"Goddess Martel, we ask you for thy blessing. Please come before us," Colette requested.

"I hear you," came a disembodied voice, "And I appear." The tree gave off a bright light and a woman dressed in a green and black dress, wielding a long druid staff, with long, flowing lime green hair appeared. She wore high heeled shoes and she was…

"Beautiful," everyone was surprised to hear Kiku speak.

"I…I can't believe I'm standing in the presence of Martel. The Martel," Marta squealed.

"Colette, the Chosen of Regeneration, and Lloyd, the bearer of the Eternal Sword, what may I do for you since you have given so much for me?" Martel requested.

"Martel, a friend of ours was captured and taken to the Soul Society, do you know how we can get there or where we could find Yuan, who might know how to get us there?" Lloyd asked.

"Yuan cannot get you to the Soul Society, but he can get you to someone who can. You will find him in one of his two bases near Flanoir and Triet," Martel spoke. "Is that…all I can do for you?"

"Yes, thank you," Colette nodded.

"I see," she said and then noticed Emil, "Oh my aren't you a sight for sore eyes Lord Ratatosk."

Emil was taken aback, "You can tell I'm Ratatosk?"

"Although your body has changed, I can tell from the way your mana flows that you are indeed Ratatosk. I am so glad you have decided to cast aside your hatred towards humanity and that I may finally meet you face to face," Martel said to him.

"Ah, thank you," Emil nodded, blushing.

"Do not worry, this new tree will sprout and it will not die. You may, rely on me," Martel told him.

"Th-thank you…M-Martel," Emil was nervous as all hell to receive such good graces from the worshipped goddess herself.

"A-anyway, w-we need to get going. We have to save Raine," Genis declared.

"Genis is right, let's get going," Lavirna said.

"Do come back anytime," Martel bade goodbye.

Triet

The desert was closer and more well suited for Zephyr to fly in so the group headed there to meet with Yuan. They knocked on the base door only for a camera to look at them.

"Who goes there?" a Renegade asked.

"Hey, is Yuan there. We need to talk to him," Lloyd requested.

"Lord Yuan is busy," the voice responded.

"This is important. Don't you even recognize us!" Lloyd shouted.

There was shuffling going on in the background and suddenly a more familiar, feminine voice, was heard. "Sorry about that Lloyd, please come in."

The front door opened. The group headed on inside and too the room where Lloyd first encountered Yuan. As predicted, he was there.

"Oh, Lloyd, everyone," he looked at the large amount of company and paused before saying, "I get the feeling this isn't a social call."

"Yuan, you have to help us, the professor's been captured!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"Captured? By whom? And why do you need me?" Yuan was confused.

"Why don't we tell Yuan the whole story?" Serina requested.

One Explanation Later…

"I see, yes I can send you to Earth like I did with Sheena. Hopefully Ichigo can get you all to Soul Society," Yuan stated.

"That's great Yuan, thanks," Lloyd said.

"It's no trouble. I owe you all much, both for bringing Mithos back to who he truly was and for helping me with the Centurions close a year ago. Besides, Raine is a fellow half-elf," he responded. "Follow me." He led the group to the Rheaird hangar.

"Rheairds?" Lloyd was confused.

"Using magi technology I can convert the hangar doors into a portal. Of course I need Nel's help to do it. I sent a signal for her to meet me down here. She should be here any minute," Yuan stated.

Nel entered the room moments later, "You called Yuan?" she asked.

"Nel, we've got a situation," Yuan said and gave Nel the short version.

"I see. I'll open the portal," she responded and went over to an apparatus where there was a hand print. Nel put her hand down and flowed her spirit energy into the apparatus where it ran along some cables and created a swirling blue portal at the open hangar door.

Yuan hit a few dials before walking up to the group, "You all need to be careful while you're there. The use of weaponry isn't exactly common in Ichigo's world and using magic is a big no. Also their technology is far past anything Aselia could ever hope to produce, at least according to Nel. You'll need to be careful until you can find Ichigo. Do you all understand that? Until you get to Soul Society, no magic and no heroics. Stay together and don't get distracted by weird or unusual objects."

"We got it. Is everything ready?" Lloyd was impatient.

Yuan sighed. "I'm telling you all this for your own good. Yours especially Lloyd. Kratos would flay me if something happened to you."

"I get it, I get it," Lloyd apologized.

"Good, then get going," Yuan responded. Everyone approached the portal. "Oh, one more thing. This portal is a one way transport. You'll be stuck in Ichigo's world and the Soul Society until you can find another way back. Most likely the Senkaimon should be your ticket home."

"Got it," Lloyd said. "Let's go everyone!"

Karakura Town

In an old abandoned, unused warehouse a portal opened in the parking garage, where upon Lloyd and the others emerged.

"Where are we?" Genis wondered.

"Karakura Town, the home town of Ichigo Kurosaki," Kiku responded having heard such a thing told to her by Sheena.

"Yuan was right. The mana level here is really thin. Even if I did use magic here, utilizing it would be pretty hard," Genis said.

Serina closed her eyes. "Yes I agree, this place certainly is low on mana, but its spiritual abundance is quite high."

"Does anyone have any sort of plan?" Lavirna asked. "I mean, searching for Ichigo would be like searching for a needle in a haystack bigger than a two story building."

"Lloyd-san? Colette-san? Genis?" The three heroes of old turned around to see a young woman with orange hair standing nearby. She had her hair tied up in a ponytail, similar to how Serina usually wore hers as well as Naomi's default hairstyle. She had gray eyes and a large chest. She was wearing a jogging outfit.

Colette's face brightened up immediately, "Orihime!" she ran towards the older girl and gave her friend a big hug. She and Orihime exchanged the cutest friendship hug anyone had ever seen.

"Who's she?" Marta asked.

"This is Orihime, she's a friend of Ichigo's. Colette, Genis and I and the others met her on the Journey for World Regeneration," Lloyd answered.

"Oh, so this is Orihime," Emil smiled, remembering how Ichigo mentioned her.

"She has…a cruxis Crystal," Kiku stated.

"What?" Serina was shocked.

"It's a long story," Genis sighed.

"What are you all doing here?" Orihime asked.

Lloyd answered, "Well you see…"

One Explanation Later

"I can't believe the Soul Society would do such a thing," Orihime was hurt by the notion. "But if you're looking for Kurosaki-kun, you're not going to find him here."

"What? What do you mean?" Lloyd asked.

"Kurosaki-kun moved to Kyoto, he goes to college there. He's studying to become a physician like his father," Orihime answered.

"How do we get to Kyoto?" Marta asked.

"You'd have to take the train, but…"

"What is it?" Emil asked.

"Well…you all kind of stand out. You're lucky I found you all now," Orihime answered. Everyone looked at their clothes.

"What's wrong with our clothes?" Lavirna asked.

"It's like Yuan said, things are different here," Rachel said, "Orihime, do you know how we could blend in with the rest of society?"

"I can take you to Urahara-san and Yoruichi-san, they can help you," she said. "Follow me."

Urahara Shoten

Upon arrival at the shop the group was greeted by the shop's assistant manager, Tessai.

"Boss! We've got more strangely dressed people!" he looked back at the group and saw Orihime. He then turned his head and called into the store, "And miss Orihime too!"

Urahara motioned for them to be sent in and had them all seated in one of the common rooms. Emil and Marta, who knew the shopkeeper better than the rest of the group, explained the situation.

"I see, so I was right about Talbumosuke after all," Urahara stated.

"What do you mean right about him?" Lloyd asked.

"All of you who are standing should have a seat, this may take a while," Urahara said.

"We don't have time for stories, we need to save Raine," Lloyd exclaimed.

"Calm down Mr. Irving, knowledge can be a lethal weapon if you know how to use it properly. The last time I sent a group to the Soul Society I didn't give them proper knowledge of the situation. I'm not about to make that same mistake again, besides it'll be a while before Raine's punishment is even declared," Urahara told Lloyd. Lloyd sighed and had a seat. "Good, now just wait a couple of minutes so I don't have to repeat myself. I had Yoruichi make a phone call the moment you guys arrived, between the time it should take her contact to answer her and the time it should take him to get here. He should be here…"

The door slid open, "Okay what's this all about Hat and Cloggs?" Lloyd and the others turned to see Ichigo and Sheena in the doorway. "What the…? Lloyd? Colette? Genis? Emil? Marta? What the heck are you guys doing here? What's going on here?"

Kiku rose to her feet, "Sh-Sheena?"

"K-kiku?" Sheena was surprised to see her disciple here as well. She looked at Urahara. "Ok, just what the heck is going on here you crazy shopkeeper?"

One Explanation Later

"Damn it, I can't believe the Soul Society would do this kind of thing," Ichigo stated.

"Ichigo, relax," Urahara told him, "The whole reason I called you here was so you could save Miss Sage. I knew you'd be livid if I didn't tell you about this. At any rate, have a seat."

Ichigo and Sheena plopped themselves down on the floor. Kiku crawled over near Sheena and sat as close to her as physically possible. Their kneecaps and hands were touching.

"As I was about to say, it appears I was right about Talbumosuke all along," Urahara stated.

"What do you mean Hat and Cloggs?" Ichigo asked him.

"As you already know, but the others don't, Aizen had the whole Soul Society fooled for an entire century."

"I keep hearing about this Aizen person a lot whenever I talk to you guys. Who was he?" Lloyd asked.

"Aizen was the greatest threat the Soul Society ever faced. He was a man with strong ambitions to overthrow the Soul King and eliminate the Gotei. Currently he's buried underground for twenty thousand years, as per his sentence," Urahara answered, "Aizen was a master manipulator and had everyone believe he was a complete and total paragon up until he revealed his true nature. His actions caused my exile, caused Momo to be his puppet, and killed the first incarnation of the Central Forty Six. He's the most powerful villain Soul Society ever faced."

"Even more powerful than Mithos?" Lloyd questioned.

"Much more powerful," Urahara answered, "To stop him it took a seal that I created and a power that Ichigo no longer has. However, I always suspected that Aizen had a backup plan. I thought Gin was it, but it appears I was wrong. It's Talbumosuke."

"Wait, what are you saying?" Ichigo asked.

"Talbumosuke Atrumier was Aizen's 5th Seat, before he became Tosen's 3rd, while Gin was still Aizen's lieutenant, or so the records show from what I had Yoruichi dig up. Talbumosuke was devoted to Aizen in the same fashion that Hinamori Momo was, but it's my belief he understood Aizen's true nature. Records show he, Aizen and Ichimaru patrolling on missions together, but Aizen sent him away to Tosen's squad the moment the man became captain. Because of this, Talbumosuke was not considered a security risk or thrown in the maggot's nest when Aizen betrayed. Now that he's become a captain he has full access to all sorts of data and facilities. He's a noble so that's another reason the Soul Society would never investigate him more carefully. I don't buy for one second that this could be over Byakuya's wedding," Urahara answered. He pointed to Naomi, "You."

"Me?" Naomi questioned, pointing to herself.

"Judging by your reiatsu, I get the feeling the feeling that Talbumosuke wanted you to fail your assassination attempt right from the get go. He's going to expect you all rushing in to save Raine. However, I have serious doubts he's going to be anyone you have to worry about while you're seeking to save her," Urahara responded.

"Wait, so while we're all out there busting our asses for Raine's sake you're telling us that we're going to be providing a distraction for this guy to carry out some sort of evil plot. What the hell do we do about it?" Ichigo asked.

"There's really nothing you can do about it. Talbumosuke is both a noble and a captain. Proving he is a man of treason will not be easy, but I doubt we will have to. He is Aizen's apprentice, set aside to strike when the time is right," Urahara answered.

"I see, so he's going to make a big speech like Aizen did when he escaped. We just have to be ready for him when he does," Ichigo responded.

"Exactly, infiltrating the Soul Society will have two objectives. Save Raine, and stop Talbumosuke," Urahara answered.

"Just get us to Soul Society," Marta stated, "We will save Raine."

"All right then," Urahara said and let the group down to his basement and down the long ladder to the traning ground.

"You know you need to install an elevator or something, really," Ichigo said to Urahara.

"Hmmm, well I could always use a donation for the store," Urahara said innocently.

"Oh please, I'm not giving you a single yen," Ichigo scoffed.

"Where's the Senkaimon?" Lloyd asked.

"Patience, Lloyd, you're about to go up against spiritual entities, some of your old companions may even attack you. You shouldn't be in such a rush," Urahara told him.

"I…I know. I'm sorry…I just…"

Ichigo put a hand on Lloyd's shoulder, "Don't worry, we'll get Raine back." Ichigo then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small cloth pouch. He opened the pouch and pulled out a green, circular, marble-sized object before popping the thing into his mouth. Instantly Ichigo emerged in soul form and his body remained upright. His body coughed.

"Dammit Ichigo, would you mind cleaning that pouch once in a while or find me a new body or something?" Kon complained.

"Kon this is not the time," Ichigo handed Kon an extra return trip ticket, "Go back to Kyoto and go to my classes. And don't you dare screw this up for me. I swear to god if I walk back into class and Mimi thinks I have a crush on her I will kill you."

"Who's Mimi?" Sheena asked.

"Some girl, who likes me despite the fact that I keep telling her I have you," Ichigo told Sheena. He looked back at Kon. "Do you understand me? If you screw up my college life I will mail you back to Soul Society in a test tube."

"All right, all right, chill Ichigo," Kon told him.

Ichigo just sighed, "All right Hat and Cloggs open the Senkaimon."

"You got it," Urahara turned the large rectangular frame in his basement into a makeshift Senkaimon. "Good luck you guys."

"Yeah," Ichigo nodded and everyone ran through the Senkaimon to the Soul Society.

2nd Division Penitentiary

Raine sat in her jail cell thinking about what had happened. She had been in the cell for who knows how long. She had protected Lloyd and the others. She knew they would come after her and she didn't need Lloyd locked up with her, they would need his strength. Still, Raine was drowning in her own sorrows of how foolish she and the others must've been. She should've stopped Lloyd, she shouldn't have attacked. She should've gotten help.

Sounds from outside broke her train of thought. "You have twenty minutes," she heard the guard out in the hallway say. The door to the holding cells opened and in strode the one man that Raine was both happy to see and ashamed for him to see her like this. She ran towards the bars on her cell.

"Byakuya!"

"How are you holding up?" he asked her.

"Byakuya, you have to get me out of here I…" the noble captain put a finger to Raine's lips.

"I am sorry," he said. Raine looked hurt, but Byakuya was quick to explain why he was apologizing. "It's my fault you are in there. Talbumosuke came to my division with an armload of paperwork and began asking questions about you. I should've known better," he put his hands on Raine's and looked down, "Raine…I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive. You couldn't have known. Please, just get me out of here," Raine told him.

"I will appeal to the Central Forty Six," he told her. "If that fails, things will be up to Lloyd and Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Ichigo?" Raine was confused.

Byakuya nodded, "The only way Lloyd and the others could ever reach the Soul Society would be through a Senkaimon. None of the representatives would be foolish enough to allow them access. Therefore they would have to find some way to Earth to enlist the help of both Kisuke Urahara and Ichigo Kurosaki before coming here. And when they get here, you can be sure things will become rather noisy."

"Will you help them?" Raine asked.

"I cannot," Byakuya answered.

"But why?" Raine asked. "They need you Byakuya."

"I cannot go against the Soul Society. I can bend the laws and I can abuse every loop hole there is, but I cannot break the laws," Byakuya responded. "I am sorry."

"Then do what you can, but do not let them throw their lives away so needlessly," Raine said, "My brother, Genis, will surely be with them. If he dies because you wouldn't go against the Soul Society for my sake I will never speak to you again." Raine was on the verge of tears.

Byakuya's eyes hid whatever emotion he was feeling. "I understand," he turned away from Raine, "please excuse me." He left the area. Raine went back to sitting on her cot. Everyone…please be careful. I get the feeling that there is much more at work here than we can fathom.

To be continued…

(A/N: Yeah sorry this chapter is a little shorter than most, but if I don't cut off the chapter here then it will drag on needlessly and I don't need that. Some ByaRaine fluff for all of you who support that pairing and the series and now the series really picks up into its plot line. Yes, Talbumosuke is Aizen's apprentice as Urahara stated. He is an extension of Aizen's will, but is that all he is? Anyway I will continue this series later. [I've been updating a lot lately haven't I?] See you guys later. Ja ne)